I just posted my article on GGG with 12 of my favorite pies, where I had submitted my thoughts on the inability of Greek society - and of course Greek gastronomy - to utilize their enormous wealth (such as the surer brand name souvlaki, unlike what the Italians did so successfully with their own pizza), and that I stumbled upon Hoocut.

Something had caught my ear about the big event - the gang of 5 is always aware of causing noise and fear - the effort of its five hungry cooks Cookovaya, that is, of Perikli Koskinas, Nikos Karathanos, Kleomenis Zournatzis and the brothers Spyros and Vangelis Liakou to enter his space street food, presenting their own version for the souvlaki, but I knew that the inauguration would take place on Monday 15-1-2018.

So on Sunday morning, as I was walking in Agia Irini Square - exact address of Agia Irini 9 - in a neoclassical building of the interwar period, I saw a movement, and I fell in front of it. The last tests were done and free skewers were offered - damn it! - to rotate the mechanism! I pushed and went inside. The first feeling is wonderful. A magnificent space, high ceilings, with nice colors, marble benches, fine ventilation and beautiful lighting!

Oh, my mother, greatness, the skewer of Mr. Mitsos…! I said to myself. The skewer of the mahala and the stump, the skewer of the neighborhood, the skewer of Karagiozis shack found his palace, the seraglio of Vezyris (American design of course)!

Internally in the space dominates its finding deconstruction of the skewer. The souvlaki is deconstructed in five distinct open spaces and spectators, the sources of the materials and their processing appear. In the background from the left one oven where freshly baked pies are made, one in the middle butcher - with its characteristic old wooden refrigerator - where the meat is processed and one on the right greengrocer's with fresh vegetables.

Next to a huge one rotisserie where the thin pieces of meat are cooked and then on the wooden counter are cut into tiny pieces. In the center of the space brewery, where on a huge marble bench of four meters the skewers are stuffed and wrapped. I was impressed here by the beautiful enameled containers where the parsley, the tomato, the onion are placed.

In terms of image and spectacle, the show was magnificent! On the menu things were simpler. Hoocut - the name a combination-game from the words hook = hook (… butcher) and cut = cuts - serves skewers, wrapped or portion and three salads (rustic, green and carrot-cabbage-sausage).

The meat is pork, beef, chicken, beef and mutton and cut into very thin slices, then embraced by the freshly kneaded pie mixed with sauces, freshly cut potatoes and herbs to create the desired skewer. The same chopped meats will be served in portions. The prices are like the current ones (2,5 Euros) and as a size slightly smaller than normal. Drinks are served ouzo Plomari, tsipouro Dekaraki, Mamos beer and Alpha Weiss barrel and wine red, pink and white in bulk.

In terms of taste, I did not try it though mutton skewer which was extremely tasty, you could feel the meat, the onion, the beautiful taste of the parsley. The pie does not pass through the grill plate, has no trace of oil, is heated on the marble workbench, and has a tenderness.

At Hookut, you feel confident about the ingredients, the cleanliness and the freshness and obviously about your hygiene and dietary concerns. In a phase of refinement of all processes, the souvlaki rises to a level, only with the quality and the high aesthetics.

Because the souvlaki is mainly memory, we might be surprised by Hoocut's suggestions!

The souvlaki in our memory, is produced in places a stalia. With an ember, a slab and a grill, in holes holes in smoke and smells, the ubiquitous Mr. Mitsos fed us hunger. 

The souvlaki is locations, roads, neighborhoods, stadium, riot, sleet, rain, heat waves.

The souvlaki has been identified with dozens of special moments of our lives.

The souvlaki has been identified deliciously with the (little / a little / sometimes a lot) oiled pie and mainly with the craftsmanship of the roaster, so that it remains crispy and crispy on the outside and tender inside. With exaggerations at will pepper, tzatziki, mustard and various sauces.

Here at Hookut, things change, in terms of spaciousness, cleanliness, finesse. But is that enough? Maybe this phase in the course of the life of the Greek skewer is necessary. I am sure that the souvlaki at Hoocut will go through other phases - apart from impressions and fashions - and will have many good surprises in store for us! The choice of the "gang of 5" to deal with the coastal, unrecognized and often distressed skewer additionally gives us the opportunity to see it again differently and to reflect!

First to catch the thread, to find its history, in Antiquity, in Byzantium and then in recent years. To understand what made it the most popular brand name delicacy for foreigners at the time of our first tourist development. To understand how he occupied the country - I do not imagine that there is a district in Athens, a village in the Greek territory, for fifty years that does not have a souvlaki restaurant. To realize that Greece was the only country that resisted, so much in the invasion of MacDonald and the various American fastfoods. How in this battle with the transatlantic invaders the thousands Sun-Mitsoi they fought with their own minimal means, zero advertising, in the least possible space and several times with good quality, and they did just fine.

In my opinion, this hoocut project may be a good occasion to start the discussion and work around the decadent Greek souvlaki, a famous international brand-name that we have made little use of. And that is enough for me.

What is certain is that the souvlaki restaurant "Kyr-Kostas", on the opposite side of Agia Irini square, has nothing to worry about!